The present invention relates generally to bird feeders, and more particularly, to a hummingbird feeder having a shade of sufficient size to prevent the premature spoiling of the liquid used to feed the hummingbirds due to both temperature and evaporation caused by exposure of the feed reservoir to sunlight.
Many individuals enjoy feeding and observing birds, particularly hummingbirds. The birds are often observed in relative proximity to a hummingbird feeder which is typically somewhere within view of a person's residence. As such, the feeders are often located in front of windows or located within garden areas. Conventional feeders for hummingbirds utilize a reservoir with a base that is refillable and a top that is structured to accommodate the slender beak of a hummingbird. Feeders are also adapted to prevent insects from feeding at the feeder. Insects of particular concern include bees and wasps as well as ants as these insects are especially attracted to the sugar based fluid typically disposed in hummingbird feeders.
In an effort to prevent bees and wasps and other insects from feeding at the feeder, feeders have been adapted to prevent the insects from accessing the nectar placed in the reservoir by having specially adapted openings in the feeder that accommodate only the long slender beak of a hummingbird. Additionally, bees and wasps are particularly attracted to the color yellow, therefore, avoiding incorporation of yellow parts with a feeder helps to prevent bees and wasps from noticing the feeder despite having sugar water disposed therein. In contrast, hummingbirds are attracted to ultraviolet colors. As such, use of ultraviolet colors other than yellow is preferred to attract to a hummingbirds without attracting nuisance bees and wasps.
Other feeders incorporate a moat in an effort to prevent crawling insects from feeding at the feeder. These moats are designed as a fluid reservoir such that crawling insects are required to cross the fluid filled reservoir in order to feed at the feeder. Other moat-based feeders implement a sticky substance that the insects must traverse in order to feed at the feeder. The purpose of this design is to cause the insects to stick in the sticky substance in the moat thereby preventing their feeding at the feeder. It would therefore be desirable to have a bird feeder constructed so to only accommodate the feeding of hummingbirds.
Hummingbird feeders typically include a fluid reservoir for containing nectar. This nectar is usually sugar water and can vary in concentration from a ratio of 1:1 to 1:5 parts sugar to parts water. The higher the concentration of sugar to water placed in the feeder, the more attractive the feeder will be to hummingbirds. Additionally, the feeder will not require the addition of additives such as honey, brown sugar, fruit, or red food coloring to the fluid in order to attract hummingbirds. The affects of these additives on the hummingbirds is also uncertain, therefore their use is not preferred.
However, the higher the concentration, the less frequently those birds that are attracted to the feeder will need to feed. It has been suggested that once hummingbirds have been attracted to a feeder's position, the concentration of the liquid placed in the feeder reservoir can be reduced to more diluted concentrations in order to entice those hummingbirds that have been attracted to the feeder to feed more often.
In addition to the hummingbirds sensitivity to the concentration of the liquid placed in the feeder, hummingbirds are also sensitive to the quality of the fluid in the feeder and may abandon a feeder that contains liquid that has spoiled. Spoilage can result from mold within the liquid reservoir, fermentation of the solution, or contaminants within the solution. A number of methods have been developed to extend the life of the fluid. For example, boiling the water to be used in the solution before measuring can retard spoilage of the liquid in the feeder by a day or two. Others suggest that using distilled water instead of boiled water can also add to the life of the fluid. However, it has been suggested that distilled water may lack minerals that hummingbirds need; therefore its use should be limited.
A significant accelerant to the spoilage of the fluid is warm weather and direct sunlight. Certain mixtures can spoil in as little as a few hours when exposed to direct sunlight in warm weather and would then require near-immediate replacement in order to maintain hummingbird feeding. Some ornithologists have speculated that a hummingbird would starve rather than consume spoiled nectar.
Additionally, it is generally accepted that the feeder should be cleaned and inspected at every filling. The preferred method for cleaning a hummingbird feeder is with hot tap water and a brush. Sometimes a black mold will appear within the feeder. This mold can be removed by soaking the entire feeder in a diluted bleach bath. Additionally, if the solution appears cloudy it has spoiled and will therefore no longer be consumed by hummingbirds. This process of cleaning the hummingbird feeder is time consuming. By extending the life of the nectar between filling and spoilage, the feeder will, as a result, require less cleanings.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system and method of supplying a feed solution only to hummingbirds while preventing premature spoilage of the feed solution due to sunlight exposure.